Blog post: Students' perspectives

This blog post was written by Emily Mowat, former CESI Accessibility Assistant. Her work on a variety of accessibility projects has contributed to expanding CESI’s understanding and practices around accessibility – especially as they relate to documents and written products. We continue to build on Emily’s work and knowledge as we move forward and work to create and share knowledge, information and events that are accessible for all.

This blog post was written by student researchers from the Research Shop. Below, they reflect on managing their own care while working on projects with potentially sensitive and intense subject matter. Their work on this project and reflections throughout fact have expanded our understanding and practices of care in the research context at CESI. We will build on this work as we move forward and actively work to create a workplace culture that is humane, accessible, and enabling for all.  

In the Winter semester of 2020, fourth-year International Development student Emily Kerr took part in the experiential learning course, IDEV*3300: Engaging in Development Practice. The course is a prerequisite for students in International Development and aims to help them gain workplace skills that will be useful in the development sector. This blog post offers an inside look into Emily’s experiences during the course and her reflections on what the course did for her personally, academically and professionally.

In September of 2019, the Research Shop partnered with Community Living Guelph Wellington to assess the impact of their Campus Friends (CF) program. Following a mentorship-style format, CF connects University of Guelph student volunteers (mentors) with adults who have a developmental disability (students), providing them with an opportunity to experience campus life.

Aarabhi Rajendiran is a PhD Candidate in Public Health and is working on evaluating a population health intervention that aims to help bridge the gap in access to health and social services amongst children and families in Guelph, Ontario. At the Research Shop, Aarabhi is a Project Manager who has worked with community organizations in Guelph and the surrounding Wellington Region to conduct evaluations of programs and youth need assessments in rural communities.

In May of 2019, two students were hired to participate in a new-to-us model of engagement led by CESI Director Dr. Elizabeth Jackson and CESI Research Associate Dr.

Learning with Impact, a photo exhibit sharing the experiences of students involved in community engaged learning, was showcased at 10C downtown Guelph over the month of February. This exhibit was put on by CESI to offer insight into the experiences of students and community organizations who worked together as part of various research projects.